First Frigid Weekend

The holidays are here again. I think the only things I look forward to about the holidays are the scented candles. I buy enough of them so my home may smell like an autumn wreath or Christmas pine all year. I struggle most with having to spend more time indoors followed closely by drivers who make poor life choices in grocery store parking lots.

I fared my first very cold weekend of the season fairly well.

Saturday: Chris and I ate breakfast at home before running errands around town, one of which is to frame a piece of memorabilia from Expo ’86. I was conceived during Expo ’86 in the city where it took place, given the theme of that World’s Fair was transport and communications, I’m beginning to think my fate in life was sealed before I even got out of the womb. In two weeks, I’ll have that reminder hanging on the wall of the home office.

After these errands, we decided to find an easy geocache off Snake Hill Road. After we found the cache, rather than head back into town the way we came, appreciating the quality of this county road (as many county roads in West Virginia aren’t even passable by a regular car) we decided to see where it went. We discovered a back way to Masontown and Route 7. Route 7 is a favorite of mine, I’ve written about it and Decker’s Creek a time or two here. Even in the frigid temperatures, it is a beauty.

One goal I have set for myself is to work on my cooking skills. So after what I believed to be the adventure segment of the day, we did something we rarely ever do: attempt to go grocery shopping during the day on a weekend. Holy heck! I felt like if I wasn’t encroaching upon someone else’s personal space, they were encroaching upon mine. What also blew my mind was the poor parking lot etiquette. I do not understand why, especially, elderly individuals (often with handicap placards) find it necessary to stand in their vehicles in front of the entrance. Oftentimes, they do this while keeping their vehicle in gear which is especially dangerous.

To top it off, we watched Promised Land, a movie about the encroaching of natural gas into a small town in Pennsylvania, starring Matt Damon. I’d wanted to see it in theaters but for some reason the nearest it ever got to Morgantown or State College was Pittsburgh.

Sunday: Bingo at Mountain State Brewing Company. We’ve done this before, but this time our friend Courtney brought two of her friends, Kelly and Cody. So new friends, great food, and winning four of the seven bingo rounds—not bad for 2 hours on a frigid Sunday afternoon!

Afterward, we went to Sears to further investigate the possibility of a portable dishwasher. We were so pleased they had two models on the floor, but we were less pleased when after 30 minutes we left without even making so much as eye contact with an associate. It’s unfortunate when a company so desperate for money lets sales for big ticket items like that walk out the door.

Throughout the entire day, we had borscht cooking in the crockpot. We weren’t sure how it was going to turn out. Frankly, we were terrified we were going to hate it (so we had a contingency plan: delivery Chinese from Great Wall). When it was finally time to lift the lid off the crockpot and serve, it was actually pretty good—it just needed a little more salt and garlic. It was like a very hearty vegetable soup that happened to have beef in it. Delicious!

Now, in two months things aren’t going to have gone so well on a cold Saturday and Sunday. Though if the high cracks freezing, you can bet I’ll be hiking somewhere!

Into the Beehive

West Virginia only has sixteen National Historic Landmarks (not to be confused with listings on the National Register of Historic Places). One of these landmarks is the Elkins Coal and Coke Company Historic District, locally referred to as the Bretz Beehive Ovens. The beehive style ovens were thought to be the very last when they ceased operation in 1980. Now they sit silently across from a quiet stretch of the Decker’s Creek Rail Trail near Masontown, West Virginia.

Masontown, despite its proximity to Morgantown, is a fairly isolated community. From Morgantown it is a curvy, windy trip on WV Route 7, wedged between either a cliff or the hillside and Decker’s Creek. From the road, the Decker’s Creek Rail Trail follows the opposite side of the creek. Masontown is appropriately named because just before arriving in town one passes the Greer Limestone Quarry.

The Masontown trailhead for the Decker’s Creek Rail Trail is a few blocks shy of downtown. Unlike a number of the other trailheads, this one is a broad green space suitable for picnicking and sunbathing. As we began to make our way toward the ovens and a geocache we passed a bicyclist and saw all sorts of evidence of life.

What I probably love most about rail trails in particular is the chance, if you look carefully, to see modern ruins. Looking up hillsides and under modern bridges, you’ll find hints of the past. But all trails connect users with the natural world. This is a good thing, and I’ll even be the first to admit a severe smartphone addiction.

An old concrete booth from the trail's past life

Despite it being early March, we never escaped the sounds of other humans. We heard the gears of bicycles whirring, four-wheelers snarling, and tractors popping. It was even comforting as we navigated through the wonders of the environment. But it probably did keep the other animals away. I’m not sure how much of a problem I have with that, this is black bear country.

The beehives were both grand and diminutive. When we arrived they seemed to line the hillside as far as the eye could see, there were 140 of them. But the ovens, or what’s left of them, were squat and covered in weeds. From the trail alone it is impossible to fully grasp the significance. Indeed, it would be an asset to the trail to have a kiosk to offer visits an introduction to their significance.

The remains of the beehive ovens

By the view of the ovens is a collapsing wooden railroad trestle that carried trains off the mainline (now the trail) to collect the coke from the ovens. The temptation is great to cross the creek to get a closer look, but safety must always come first and private property must always be respected. We settled on photographs and hope to access the ovens legally someday.

The old rail access to the ovens

The trip back to the car was a flash, but for our effort, we were hungry and thirsty, so we went into Masontown to satisfy our needs. A few sodas and sandwiches don’t contribute much to the local economy, but if you multiply this number by all or even half of that trailhead’s guests, the trail is paid for.

And in three days, this blog will celebrate a year of sharing stories from the roads, rails, and the land under my feet. Thank you for reading!

Take a Back Road: Morgantown – Washington – Wheeling

Part 4

Cameron takes the traveler by surprise. It is a much larger community than one may expect. It has the footprint and sprawl of a city three or four times its present size. This is due in part from the terrain, the city is tightly hemmed into several hollers of Appalachian hills and also as a relic to a time when Cameron was a greater city than it is now. Its well-preserved downtown, while largely vacant, is like traveling through time. Other civic efforts, like fixing up the old rail depot (despite the fact there are no longer any tracks) are promises that this is one town that will not lose its connection to history. It is also worth noting their public pool was a make-work project from the Great Depression, but it still welcomes the public each summer. It has a unique, beach-style design that is not particularly common.

From Cameron the trip through the hills continues. Approaching the town of Hundred, remnants of a railroad come closer and closer to the road. An old tunnel, with a portal reading “Soles,” peers over to U.S. Route 250. While sealed, the portal has survived the elements well. Things like this left behind make me crave to know more of the area history.

Hundred itself is a sleepy town that epitomizes Americana. A welcoming main street with rows of picture perfect white homes spurring off, coupled with poor cell phone service at best, and the chimes of the church bell carried on the cool air was an almost surreal experience. In Hundred we picked up the Hundred Cache on the East Wetzel Rail Trail, a trail whose length is only about 1.5 miles. It roughly travels from one end of town to the other. But it is a valiant effort based on the success of other rail trails in the state. Pleasantly, the trail follows the creek through town as it gurgles a pleasant song. It was only a short walk, but helped recharge our batteries as the pizza from Wheeling was wearing us out.

Just beyond Hundred we picked up WV Route 7, the final leg before returning home. Slaloming through natural gas pad sites we sought one final cache. Much of the day’s drive showcased the past, but the Bob Beach Bridge, while situated at the entrance to the Mason-Dixon Historical Park, is a view to the future. On a prior visit to this bridge I encountered a park volunteer who said that they had wanted an old-fashioned covered bridge. When the Department of Transportation refused, they countered with the offer for the bridge we see today. The Bob Beach Bridge is a fiber-reinforced, glue-laminated timber arch bridge with a fiber-reinforced polymer deck. Intending to showcase this unique structure our friend and frequent road trip partner, Brian, placed this geocache. With the hillside sparsely populated by briars this time of year we made the find quickly.

Despite an amazing day of adventure, we breathed a sigh of relief and finished the drive into Morgantown. Visions of future trips danced through our minds. I always think it is ideal when you’re eager to return somewhere.